Wilmington Landlords Are Ignoring Rental Data and Buying Based on Personal Preference, Property Manager Warns

Written by:

Rudi Davis

Date:

18 Feb 2026

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As hundreds of new single-family homes are built each month in the Wilmington area, many landlords are purchasing properties based on personal preference rather than actual rental market data, according to Catherine Huffman, co-owner of Keyrenter Wilmington. This disconnect is leading to a growing number of underperforming rentals, with more vacancies and lower rents than landlords expect.

“People are buying based on feelings instead of data,” Huffman says. “There are a lot of new homes in different places, but you need to look at where tenants actually want to move, not just where you would want to live yourself. This isn’t about you – it’s about where the demand is.”

A Market Flooded With New Homes

The ongoing construction boom magnifies the issue. Huffman notes that Wilmington has 18,000 single-family homes and continues to add hundreds more every month, stretching from Hampstead to Calabash. If a significant share of these new properties is bought by investors who ignore rental demand trends, the market could see a large inventory of homes that struggle to attract tenants.

Huffman says the consequences are already visible. Properties that do not match tenant preferences are sitting vacant longer and achieving lower rents than similar homes in more desirable areas. “You really need to do your research before buying an investment property,” she advises, adding that the knowledge gap is especially wide among out-of-state buyers who may not understand current tenant behavior in Wilmington.

Out-of-State Investors Missing the Mark

Huffman points to a surge of West Coast buyers purchasing Wilmington properties as future retirement homes but renting them out in the meantime. “We have a lot of people coming in from the West Coast who want to use the homes as long-term rentals now, then retire here later,” she explains.

These buyers often choose homes based on where they would personally like to live in years to come, rather than analyzing which locations and property types attract tenants today. The result is a portfolio that may work as a retirement plan but underperforms as a short-term rental investment.

This mismatch surfaces in several ways. Some buyers prefer quieter inland neighborhoods, despite data showing that coastal properties command higher rents. Others buy two-bedroom homes, assuming they are ideal starter rentals, even as Huffman’s data shows that three-bedroom or larger homes are seeing the strongest rent growth while smaller units lag.

What the Data Shows

Keyrenter Wilmington’s rental performance data highlights clear tenant preferences. Demand is highest for three-bedroom and larger homes with fenced yards, located in neighborhoods with resort-style amenities, especially in coastal areas such as Calabash and Ocean Isle. Homes missing these features – regardless of other qualities – are experiencing longer vacancies and downward pressure on rents.

“The smaller homes that aren’t in big neighborhoods and don’t have amenities are sitting vacant longer,” Huffman says. “People want the big, resort-style life.” This gap between what landlords think tenants want and what tenants actually rent is widening as the local market grows.

Emotional attachment to properties can also lead landlords to resist lowering rents, even when market conditions require it. This hesitation results in longer vacancies and worsens financial performance.

Market Efficiency at Risk

The prevalence of emotion-driven investment decisions is undermining market efficiency in Wilmington’s rental sector. In an efficient market, investor capital would flow to the best-performing property types and locations, eventually balancing supply and demand. However, when many landlords buy based on personal preference instead of return potential, the market fails to adjust as economic theory predicts.

Coastal properties with three or more bedrooms remain in short supply relative to demand, while new two-bedroom inland homes keep entering the market even as their rental performance declines. As a property manager, Huffman witnesses this imbalance firsthand. “Our job is to watch the growth here and guide investors to the right areas where they can get good rents and attract tenants,” she says.

Educating Investors

To address the problem, Keyrenter Wilmington has made investor education a core part of its process. The company presents rental performance data to clients before they buy, aiming to steer them away from emotional decisions.

Keyrenter, launched in October 2025 and now managing nine properties, offers a guarantee to reinforce data-driven decisions. If the company cannot find a tenant within 30 days, provided the home is ready, allows pets, and is priced as recommended, it will waive the first month’s management fee. This puts Keyrenter’s income at risk if landlords ignore data-backed pricing advice.

Keyrenter has also partnered with Anywhere Real Estate to access broader market analytics, further challenging landlords’ assumptions about what makes a successful rental in Wilmington. Whether education alone will change investor behavior or whether landlords will need to experience the financial pain of extended vacancies and negative cash flow remains an open question.

What Comes Next

The surge in new home construction and the influx of out-of-state investors make it more important than ever for landlords to ground their decisions in current market data. Wilmington’s rental market is no longer forgiving of gut-based investing. Properties that match tenant demand – larger homes in amenity-rich coastal neighborhoods – are leasing quickly and at premium rents. Those that do not are increasingly sitting empty or requiring price cuts.

For landlords, the lesson is clear: personal preference should not dictate investment strategy. Without a close eye on what tenants are actually renting, investors risk tying up capital in homes that do not pay off. As Huffman puts it, “You have to look at the data and buy where the demand is – not just where you’d like to live someday.”

Next year will test whether education and market feedback can close the gap between landlords’ instincts and tenants’ realities. For now, Wilmington’s property managers are urging investors to let the numbers – not emotions – guide their purchases.